The Wildcats are the first school to have the top two picks, part of what they hoped would be perhaps five or even six players selected in the first round. The number ended up being four — Terrence Jones, 18th to the Rockets, and Marquis Teague, 29th to the Bulls.

Coach John Calipari has been criticized for recruiting ‘‘one-and-done’’ players — they stay the required one year and leave — but he looked thrilled hugging his two lottery picks.

UCLA had the first and third picks in 1969, when the Bucks took Lew Alcindor and Lucius Allen went to the SuperSonics.

Davis will begin his pro career in the same city where he ended it with a national title. College basketball’s player of the year as a freshman — as well as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four — slipped on a blue-and-purple Hornets hat above a conservative gray suit that took no attention away from basketball’s most famous unibrow.

The 6-foot-10-inch Davis averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.7 blocks, becoming a dominant defender after growing 7 inches from the start of his junior year of high school.

‘‘The first thing I said after [the Hornets won the NBA draft lottery] was it would be great to win another championship in New Orleans,’’ Davis said. ‘‘Monty [Williams] is a great coach who has played in the league and will tell you how it is. He has given me some great advice and I can’t wait to get out on the court with him.’’

Charlotte, coming off the worst winning percentage in NBA history, had been open to moving the No. 2 pick if it found the right deal. Instead, Michael Jordan’s team went with Kidd-Gilchrist, whose selection by the Bobcats was loudly cheered. The swingman played in high school at nearby St. Patrick’s in Elizabeth, N.J.

Though he and Davis talked before the draft, they didn’t discuss the history the Wildcats were about to make.

Huskies go high

University of Connecticut teammates Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb went three picks apart among lottery selections, with Drummond going to the Pistons at No. 9 and Lamb landing with the Rockets at No. 12.

The 6-10, 270-pound Drummond averaged 10 points and 7.6 rebounds last season as an 18-year-old freshman.

Drummond still has some maturing to do at the offensive end — he shot under 30 percent from the free throw line last year.

Lamb, a 6-5 guard, entered the draft after just two college seasons. He averaged 17.7 points and 4.9 rebounds last year and became just the sixth sophomore in UConn history to score 1,000 career points.

Picks move fast

The Mavericks turned their first-round pick into three selections. After using the 17th overall choice to get North Carolina center Tyler Zeller, Dallas traded his draft rights along with guard Kelenna Azubuike to Cleveland for three picks.

Before the deal was formally approved by the NBA, the Cavaliers made three selections for the Mavericks: Oregon State guard Jared Cunningham with the 24th overall pick, Florida State center Bernard James at No. 33, and Marquette forward Jae Crowder at No. 34.

The Sixers ended up with two first-round picks after a draft-night deal. Philadelphia took St. John’s forward Maurice Harkless with its pick at No. 15, and acquired the rights to Mississippi State big man Arnett Moultrie (the 27th selection) from the Heat.

Miami received the rights to the Sixers’ second-round pick (LSU center Justin Hamilton) and a future first-round pick.

Odom back to LA

According to a person with knowledge of the deal, Lamar Odom is headed back to Los Angeles for a second chance with the Clippers and Mo Williams will be reunited with Utah. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because a three-team deal between the Mavericks, Clippers, and Jazz is contingent on Williams invoking his $8.5 million player option for next season. That person told the AP that would happen by Friday. The Jazz are in position to absorb Williams’s salary without sending a player to Dallas by using a trade exception created last season when they dealt Mehmet Okur to New Jersey. Dallas faced a Friday deadline on a $2.4 million buyout of Odom’s $8.2 million option for next season. Now the Mavericks will have an $8.2 million trade exception, similar to what they used to acquire Odom from the Lakers last December before the strike-shortened season . . . The Magic extended a qualifying offer to forward Ryan Anderson, allowing the team to retain the right to match any offer the third-year forward and reigning NBA Most Improved Player receives. Anderson becomes a restricted free agent July 1. He is one of the NBA’s top 3-point shooters and averaged career bests of 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds last season . . . The Hornets made a qualifying offer to Eric Gordon, formally making the prolific shooting guard a restricted free agent. The move allows New Orleans to match any offer Gordon receives, and the Hornets have stated previously that they intend to re-sign the guard . . . The Suns extended qualifying offers to center Robin Lopez and guard Aaron Brooks, making both restricted free agents. Lopez averaged 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds last season in 64 games. Brooks played last season in the Chinese Basketball Association after being acquired by Phoenix in February 2011 . . . The Mavericks will join the Celtics in Europe for four exhibition games in October. Dallas will play German champion Alba Berlin Oct. 6 and Spanish champion FC Barcelona Rega Oct. 9.

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